Additive manufacturing generally encompasses processes in which digital 3-dimensional (3D) design data is employed to fabricate an article or component in layers by material deposition and processing. Several techniques have been developed falling under the umbrella of additive manufacturing. Laser sintering, for example, is a common additive manufacturing technique wherein a thin layer of powder material is applied to a building substrate or platform. A laser beam subsequently fuses the powder at points predetermined by the digital data encoding the shape and dimensions of the article to be fabricated. The platform is then lowered and another layer of powder is applied and selectively fused to bond with the layer below at the predetermined points. This process is repeated until fabrication of the article is complete.
In view of this example, additive manufacturing offers an efficient and cost-effective alternative to traditional article fabrication techniques based on molding processes. With additive manufacturing, the significant time and expense of mold and/or die construction and other tooling can be obviated. Further, additive manufacturing techniques make an efficient use of materials by permitting recycling in the process and precluding the requirement of lubricants and coolant. Most importantly, additive manufacturing enables significant freedom in article design. Articles having highly complex shapes can be produced without significant expense allowing the development and evaluation of a series of article designs prior to final design selection.